


“Chiba City – Broke or Breaking the Boundaries of Budgets? Best Borough in Japan Shows The World How Love, Friendship, and Peanuts Can Conquer Catastrophes”

by darkdropout



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: M/M, Pro-Chiba Propaganda, parks and recreation AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 11:25:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9321377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkdropout/pseuds/darkdropout
Summary: Deputy Director of Chiba City Parks and Recreation Aiba Masaki loves Chiba more than anything. When Tokyo-san comes knocking, he will not sit idly by.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [murrponchan (kuripaaan)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuripaaan/gifts).



> written for [murrponchan](http://murrponchan.livejournal.com/) in this year's [aibaexchange](http://aibaexchange.livejournal.com/) 2016!!!

*****

The door to the Director’s office is locked from the inside. It’s not the first time, and it’s certainly not the last time, but it’s still no match for Aiba Masaki.

“Good morning, Nino-chan!” Aiba calls as he uses his sneakered-foot to kick the door open wide enough for it to smack loudly against the nearest wall. 

At his desk, Nino startles cutely, arms flailing like a mechanical toy before he recovers himself and scowls in Aiba’s direction.

“If you insist on breaking into my office, at least close the door behind you. You’re letting fresh air in!” Nino complains from behind the oversized sunglasses he’s wearing even in the dimly lit room. They slip down his nose as he slumps back onto his desk. 

“Nino,” Aiba says sympathetically, taking in the unusually sorry state of his boss. 

He steps further into Nino’s sparsely furnished office, leaving the door open behind him despite another grumble of annoyance from Nino’s general direction. 

“I know the new Space Zombies War IX game came out yesterday and you stayed up all night to play it. So I brought you one of my homemade Masaki Super Special Big Energy Smoothies.”

He holds out the bright pink Chiba Lotte Marines water bottle (the one with the picture of Rine-chan doing a handstand on the front that Nino insists is not his favorite even though he always uses it when he’s “borrowing” Aiba’s things). He ignores the way Nino peers dubiously inside it at what even Aiba can admit is a beverage of off-putting color and consistency.

“Not mabo tofu-flavored?” Nino asks, which is a reasonable question after last time.

Aiba shakes his head. “Nope! Even though you _did_ say you liked the taste of that one before I told you what it was.”

He pushes the bottle into Nino’s hand and this time Nino accepts it. He takes a sip, wrinkles his nose dramatically, then takes another. Aiba grins.

After a few more sips, Nino pushes his sunglasses onto the top of his head, squinting but already looking more human than he did when Aiba arrived.

“Better?” Aiba asks.

“Hmm,” says Nino. He leans back in his chair, putting his feet up on his desk showing the old, hole-ridden sweatpants and scuffed outdoor house slippers that are his usual office attire. He gestures to the giant metal bucket swinging at Aiba’s side. “Dare I ask what’s in that bucket you’re holding?”

Aiba looks down at the bucket, surprised to see it there. He’d almost forgotten it. “Oh right!”

He clangs down the bucket on Nino’s desk, and as it’s contents come into view, Nino quickly pulls back, gagging. 

“ _What is this_?”

“Slugs!” says Aiba, tugging on the lapels of his well-worn blazer, his civil service pin glinting proudly from where it's pinned to the front of his sweater. “Yamada-san called our hotline and complained about the slugs on her sidewalk. And I said ‘No problem is too small for the Chiba City Parks and Recreation Department!’”

“Kazapon!” Nino yells. “Get these slugs off my desk! And get me a coffee!”

“Um, Kazama-san’s not here,” a timid voice pipes up from the main office beyond Nino’s still open door. “Aiba-san told him to go park the car.”

“Yeah, by the way, who is that kid sitting in my office?” Nino asks.

“That’s our new intern, Dai-chan,” Aiba explains, waving out the door to the boy sitting nervously at a desk in the middle of the otherwise empty room. 

The boy looks startled by the attention, quickly turning to look behind him to see if someone else is there, before he waves back to Aiba unsurely. 

Nino looks to Aiba, eyebrows raised. “Unpaid?”

“Dai-chan, are we paying you?” Aiba calls out.

“Um,” says Dai-chan. “No, Aiba-san.”

“Good,” says Nino, appreciatively. “Now back to this ‘No Problem Too Small’ thing. I thought I told you to nix that. It’s ruining my life. The phone hasn't stopped ringing all day and you weren’t here to answer it!” he whines.

“That’s why Dai-chan is here! To answer the phone while I’m out helping the good people of Chiba!” Aiba says.

“Actually,” says Dai-chan, looking extremely uncomfortable. “I’m the Public Works intern. And my supervisor is kinda mad I haven’t been in all week.”

Nino and Aiba ignore him, turning back to each other to continue their conversation.

“Slugs on some lady’s sidewalk are not in our jurisdiction,” Nino says.

“Not true!” replies Aiba, slapping his hand down on Nino’s desk in enthusiasm, the bucket trembling a little precariously as he does so. “Technically, Yamada-san lives on the edge of Chiba Park and the slugs are from the Chiba Park pond. That makes the slugs our jurisdiction. And as Deputy Director of Chiba City Parks and Recreation Department, I – ”

Although he expects it, Aiba is still a little disappointed when Nino cuts him off before he can continue his heartfelt speech.

“Is this costing me anything?” Nino asks, eyes narrowed.

“No!” Aiba says quickly.

“Okay, cool. Then do whatever you want,” Nino says with a dismissive tone that Aiba knows not to take personally. “Just leave me alone and make sure no one bothers me. And tell Kazapon to get rid of these slugs he put on my desk.”

“You got it, Director,” Aiba answers, turning to leave.

He’s across the room when Nino calls out to him again. 

“Oh, Aibaka. One more thing. The Mayor’s Office called. Some guys are coming from Tokyo today to visit City Hall. They’ll be making the rounds to every department. I expect you’ll handle that?”

“Tokyo?” Aiba asks in confusion. “What would Tokyo-san be doing in Chiba?”

Nino takes another sip of his smoothie and shrugs. “If anyone told me, I wasn’t listening. Close the door behind you.”

“Yes, Director-chan!” Aiba says. 

He leaves the door wide open as he passes through it and into the main department office. He stops for a moment in front of Dai-chan’s desk.

“Dai-chan!” he says, reaching out to pat the boy’s shoulder roughly enough to make his chair squeak across the floor. “You're doing a great job here!”

“Aiba-san,” Dai-chan whispers, “would it be okay if I went to my real internship now? Because I – ”

Before he can continue, the phone on his desk begins to ring. Dai-chan looks at it in alarm.

“Intern-chan!” Nino barks. “The Public Works Department is _not_ not-paying you to chat instead of answering my phones!”

Dai-chan’s eyes widen in fear. He scrambles to pick up the phone receiver, placing it against his ear with an unsteady hand. 

“Thank you for calling Chiba City Parks and Recreation Department where ‘No Problem is Too Small’,” he recites, Aiba mouthing along with him. “What can we do to service the wonderful people of the greatest city on Earth?”

***

Aiba can’t help but be a little curious about the Tokyo visitors. In all his several eventful years at Chiba City Hall, Tokyo-san has only visited once – and it wasn’t on a very happy occasion.

It has been kind of exciting to see the then-Mayor dragged off in handcuffs by Tokyo Metropolitan Police – handcuffs!! – but Aiba hadn’t misunderstood how terrible a blow this was for his beloved Chiba. 

And while that had been years ago now, and things had gotten better since then, it was hard to shake the nagging feeling that a visit from Tokyo was not a good sign.

“Super Deputy Aiba-chan,” says Toma, looking up from behind the City Planner’s desk with a smile as Aiba stops in his doorway. “Here to argue about that pit again? If you think you can get me to go out there and _take more park measurements_ just so you can push me into it again, I’m on to you – ” he starts jovially before noticing the unusually far away look on Aiba’s face. “Aiba-chan? What’s up?”

Aiba shakes himself from his thoughts and gives a bashful smile. “Toma-kun, do you know anything about the people coming from Tokyo?”

Toma taps the nub of his drawing pencil against his worktable a few times. “Probably just as much as you know. I got the call from Mayor Kiritani’s office that we’d have visitors and that was about it. Why?” 

Aiba frowns. “Tokyo-san never comes to Chiba.”

Toma nods, leaning back in his seat. “Now that you mention it, I guess it’s only the second time they’ve come since I’ve lived here.”

“Exactly, and – eh?” Aiba interrupts himself before he can continue, looking at Toma in puzzlement. “Since you’ve lived here? You mean your whole life?”

Toma sigh is as weary as it is good-natured. “Aiba-chan, we’ve been through this a million times. I’m from Noboribetsu. In Hokkaido.”

Aiba blinks. “I thought Hokkaido was a made up place.”

“It’s not,” Toma chuckles.

Aiba shakes his head slowly. “No, I’m pretty sure it is.”

“It’s not!” Toma groans. He throws his pencil at Aiba, but Aiba is too fast, ducking down and out of the way with plenty of time.

“Didn’t we go to high school together?” he asks once he’s righted himself again.

“That was Pi!” says Toma, already laughing again.

“Isn’t he from Tokyo?” asks Aiba with a giggle.

“He’s from _Chiba_!”

“Yeah, that’s right!” says Aiba triumphantly. “And Chiba has to stick together! No matter who comes from Tokyo!”

“I agree,” says Toma. He rolls up the blueprint laying across his worktable and holds it out for Aiba to take. “But I’m also still from Hokkaido.”

Aiba grabs the blueprint with a nod of thanks, then quickly retreats in case Toma has any more pencils to throw. He’s already scampered through the door when he calls back in from the safety of the hallway. 

“You're from Hokkaido, which is a made up place, so you're also from Chiba! And Chiba sticks together!”

He can hear Toma laughing as another Chiba City Planner pencil bounces off the hallway wall beside Aiba’s head.

***

Aiba doesn’t have much more time to ponder the impending Tokyo invasion and what it could possibly mean. No sooner has he arrived back at the Parks and Recreation office, then the very people in question are darkening the doorway – or at least darkening it as much as two people can.

“Which one is this?” asks the one in the lead, a tall man with an impeccably cut suit, dark and shiny with a matching belt that looks like it’s worth more than Aiba’s monthly pay check. The man has a dark wave of perfectly set hair, and a strikingly serious expression made all the more striking by his strong features.

“Parks and Recreation,” replies the man standing beside him as he looks down at the thickly stacked clipboard in his hands. This man is a little shorter, with noticeably sloping shoulders. He is also a little less fashionably dressed – his tie is a glaringly bright red with tiny, poorly drawn music notes across it, and clashes terribly with the grey dress shirt underneath it. 

Aiba glances back to where Nino has appeared in the doorway to his office, sunglasses still perched on the top of his uncombed hair and arms crossed over his chest as he leans casually against the doorframe, clearly sizing up the new arrivals. He gives Aiba a nod and Aiba receives the signal loud and clear. There’s no time to for Aiba to tuck in his shirt, but he still reaches up to straighten his tie before he turns back to their guests. 

“Hello!” Aiba says, with his best welcoming smile. “Welcome to Chiba City! I’m Aiba Masaki, Deputy Director of Chiba City Parks and Recreation. And this is our Director, Ninomiya Kazunari.”

The serious man nods his head in greeting and his stylish hair doesn’t move an inch. “Matsumoto Jun, Tokyo Metropolitan District Budget Auditing Consultant.” He gestures to the man standing beside him. “This is my colleague from the National City Budget Office, Sakurai Sho.” 

“Nice to meet you,” says Aiba. He can hesitate for only a moment before blurting out, “What brings you to our beautiful city?”

Matsumoto’s expression remains surprisingly stony, even in the face of Aiba’s smile. “Nothing good,” he replies curtly. 

Aiba feels the smile slip off his face. 

Matsumoto looks to Sakurai, who continues for him. “Director Ninomiya, Deputy Director Aiba, if you have a moment, we have some questions for you. First of all, is this the entirety of your department?” 

“Us and Kazama,” says Aiba, attempting to keep the sudden dread he feels curling through his stomach from showing on his face, perhaps unsuccessfully. “But he’s out on official business. And we have an intern, Dai-chan. He’s in the conference room repurposing slugs.”

Sakurai scribbles something down on his clipboard as Matsumoto gives Aiba an incredulous look.

“Are you going to tell us what this is about already?” Nino asks, in a tone not quite its habitual nonchalance. 

Aiba turns again to see the Director pushing himself off the wall, straightening his shoulders, an unusually solemn expression on his face. He steps forward to stand beside Aiba.

“That,” says Matsumoto, with a bit of annoyance, “is something for my superior to discuss with you.” 

Nino’s eyes widen at that. He’s clearly as surprised as Aiba is – from the way that Matsumoto has presented himself, it seems unlikely that there was anyone of higher rank among these new arrivals. 

“And? Who would that be?” Nino asks.

Matsumoto doesn’t answer. Instead he takes a large step to the left, revealing what Aiba assumed to be the empty hallway. Only it’s not empty. 

Behind Matsumoto, there’s a third man standing with his back to them. He’s staring with what seems to be rapt attention at the mural of a field of yellow _nanohana_ in full bloom painted on the opposite wall. 

“Oh!” Aiba hears himself breathe.

Despite this dramatic reveal, the man doesn’t seem to notice that an entire room is now staring in his direction. Matsumoto rolls his eyes. 

“Chief Ohno-san,” he prompts. “This is the Chiba City Park and Recreation Department.”

The man turns then, looking a little startled before he lifts his hand to wave slightly in Aiba and Nino’s direction. Aiba finds himself waving back automatically, even as Nino shoves an elbow into his side to stop him.

“Hi!” says the man, a smile just beginning to curl at the corner of his mouth. 

He takes a step forward into the office and now that he’s next to his two subordinates it’s clear he’s much smaller than them – and much less threatening – with gentle eyes and an unassuming posture. His hair is a little long, and before his hand drops back down to his side he pushes at his bangs a bit awkwardly, as if he’s not entirely used to having to keep them out of his face yet. While the men beside him are dressed neatly and professionally, Aiba can’t help but notice that this Ohno-san is not wearing much that could be called professional. Instead of a suit, he’s in a soft looking t-shirt with a mismatched jacket thrown over it, and a pair of dark jeans. On his feet are blue fishing sandals. 

It’s a look that Aiba can appreciate.

“Hi,” says Aiba, a bit in awe.

Ohno looks at Aiba and his smile widens.

Nino elbows Aiba in the side again, _hard_.

Sakurai clears his throat. “Director, is there somewhere we can sit?”

“Dai-chan!” Nino call outs. “Get your slugs out of the conference room! We’re coming in!”

***

Once the slugs have been removed from the premises (Sakurai in particular is extremely concerned about how many there were to begin with and if they have all been accounted for), they take their seats around the large wooden table that takes up most of the tiny room they call the conference room – or as Nino likes to call it the Grand Director Ninomiya Kazunari Memorial Conference Center. He’d even made Kazama get a fancy plaque made up to hang outside the door when the sign store had been having a sale last year.

Sakurai removes the heap of papers from his clipboard and begins to spread them out over the table. Complicated documents with complicated writing. Aiba certainly can’t make anything of them, but he doesn't like the way Nino’s eyes are flicking quickly over the text, darkening with concern. 

“Ohno-san,” Matsumoto says. 

Ohno, who has somewhat bashfully taken his place at the head of the table and then , seems to blink himself awake. “Right,” he says, finally. “I’m sorry to tell you, but Chiba City is bankrupt.”

Aiba’s heart sinks, then sinks some more, keeps sinking all the way until it hits the floor.

“What do you mean?” Nino shoots back, sharply. “How? Why?” 

Ohno shrugs helplessly, reaching up again to push his bangs out of his face. 

Matsumoto cuts in. “You must know that your governor was arrested for corruption.”

“That was years ago!” says Aiba in honest confusion.

“Yes, it was,” Matsumoto continues brusquely. “But more recently it has come to our attention that the Governor’s misappropriation of funds was only the beginning of what is a deep and unsettling financial crisis. Over the past six years, the city of Chiba has been bleeding money. And now it has finally run itself dry, if not run itself into the ground entirely.”

Aiba shakes his head in disbelief, complete disbelief. “No, it can’t be. Chiba would never do that!” he says.

Matsumoto’s thick eyebrows raise up far enough to disappear beneath his perfect hair style. 

“You can’t say something like that,” he says. “It makes no sense to say that. Chiba is the people who run it and the people who run it have made this happen.”

“Deputy Director,” says Sakurai, “we’re here to help. We’ve been hired by the government of Chiba to deal with the unfortunately situation your city is in.”

“Chiba is the best!” Aiba half-shouts. “It’s – this wouldn’t happen! It’s a special place - ”

Mastumoto interrupts before he can continue. “Chiba is not special. It is not ‘the best’. Right now, in fact, Chiba City is the worst example of Japanese Government in the country.”

Aiba jumps up from his seat so fast he knocks his chair right out from under him, and it clangs loudly to the floor. “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT CHIBA?”

Matsumoto’s eyes flash with aggravation, and for a moment it seems he’s about to stand up too. Silently, Ohno reaches out to take a hold of his arm. Matsumoto lets out a deep, frustrated breath and stays seated.

Aiba feels Nino tugging at the back of his shirt. He turns, still fuming with the audacity of Matsumoto’s insults, but picks up his chair and places it upright. He takes his seat again begrudgingly, as Nino pats him on the back.

“If we can continue,” says Sakurai, voice a little more strained than before. “We are visiting each city department today to inform you that, to begin with, every department will have to have its budget cut by thirty-five to fifty perfect.”

Now Nino is the one jumping up from his chair. “ _Fifty percent?_ ” 

“That’s correct,” confirms Sakurai. “Although, Director Ninomiya, for the Parks and Recreation Department, the budget will be cut eighty-six perfect due to the surplus of funds your department consistently reports at the end of the fiscal year.” 

The blood drains from Nino’s face so quickly that for a moment Aiba is sure that Nino is going to pass out. 

“That’s not a surplus!” Nino yelps. “We were given that money by the city! That’s _our_ money!”

Sakurai shakes his head. He holds out one of his papers for Nino to take. “If you do not spend the money allotted to your department in the annual city budget, the remainder should be given back to the city and reflected by a decrease to a more appropriate amount in the years to follow. It’s standard procedure, and honestly, the fact that it hasn’t been followed here is part of the reason that Chiba is in the situation it is currently in.”

Nino has now turned an unnerving shade of green, looking frantically over the paper in his hand. “So let me get this straight, Sakurai-san,” he says. “WE’RE BEING PUNISHED BECAUSE I’M FRUGILE?”

“Nino doesn’t spend the money because he’s a good director!” says Aiba, loyally. “Last year he got an award from Mayor Kiritani for his spending!” 

“Director, Deputy Director, you need to be realistic about this situation,” says Sakurai, pleadingly. “The issue of Chiba City being bankrupt is not meant to be personal. It’s a fact.”

“It is personal!” says Aiba, angrily. It’s been a long time since he’s been this angry, since he’s been angry at all, and he can feel the way it’s bubbling beneath his skin. “It’s _my_ Chiba you’re talking about!”

Sakurai is getting flustered now too, shuffling his papers as if he’s unsure how to proceed. He points out Nino’s name on one of the documents in front of him. He looks to Nino, a little distressed. 

“You can understand this, can’t you, Director Ninomiya?” He points out Nino’s name on one of the documents in front of him. “Our records show you’re from Tokyo, are you not?”

“Nino-chan is on the Sobu Line,” Aiba says, his arm shooting out protectively across Nino’s chest. “So he just as Chiba as anyone!”

The budget paper is crumbled in Nino’s hands now. “Aiba-chan, it’s okay.”

He pushes the piece of paper back across the table to Sakurai. 

“Yeah, I was born in the Capital City,” he replies, then gives a wry smile. “But I’m a Chibajin now, so if you were thinking I was going to take your side in all this, you’re out of luck.”

Aiba has never been more proud of Nino than in this moment. The urge to turn and smoosh Nino’s face in his hands is so strong, but Aiba fights it back, makes a mental note to do it later. 

On the other side of the table, there is a long stretch of silence. Finally, Matsumoto speaks. 

“Well, then,” he says. “You’ll both want to listen to what we say so you can save your precious Chiba.”

***

“I can not sit idly by and watch this terrible thing happen!” says Aiba, slamming both hands on the restaurant table and making every one of the numerous dishes there clatter.

Nino pauses in his half-hearted task of pushing an order of fried dumplings around with his chopsticks. 

“You can barely sit idly by and watch good things happen,” he mutters, not without fondness.

Aiba reaches across the table and wipes his hand down Nino’s face roughly. “Nino, we have to save Chiba! They’re going to cut the budget _for the entire city_! Every department! It will be terrible and people will be hurt. Chiba will be hurt!”

Nino grimaces, wriggling out of his long-limbed friend’s reach with the ease of someone who has been doing it for years. “I know that!” he says in exasperation. “I was in the meeting too.”

Aiba slumps back in his seat dejectedly. “Those guys were just laughing at us – making fun of Chiba because they’re from the big city and they think we’re just a bunch of idiots.”

“Aibashi, listen.” Nino sighs as he puts down his chopsticks. “No one comes into my office and makes fun of Chiba. No one makes fun of Chiba except _me_. But these guys – they’re big shots and Chiba Prefecture is the one who hired them in the first place to do what they’re doing. From a government standpoint, there’s nothing we can do but wait for them to slash and burn – and you know how I feel about budget cuts. I treat the Chiba City Parks and Recreation budget as I do my own wallet.”

“I know,” says Aiba. He frowns deeply. “There has to be something we can do though. We can’t just – ”

“Where’s my beer?” interrupts Nino. 

Aiba knows he’s changing the subject on purpose. Nino has always been good at knowing when to lighten the mood, and Aiba trusts him enough to go along with it even when he doesn’t really want to.

“The service here is terrible,” Nino complains.

“Oi!” Aiba says in warning.

“Yusuke-chan!” Nino calls waving across the restaurant.

A young man sidles up to their table. 

“Yo,” he says.

“Hey, is that any way to talk to your older brothers?” Nino scolds.

Yusuke blinks, slowly. “You’re not my brother.”

Nino looks across the table at Aiba, shaking his head. “Kids today. No respect. Where’s my beer?”

“Ohhhh, right,” says Yusuke. “I left it upstairs.”

“Upstairs?” asks Nino, warily.

“In the bathroom,” Yusuke confirms.

Nino’s eyes widen in disbelief. “You took my beer in the bathroom?”

“Yes,” Yusuke agrees.

“Okay,” says Nino. “I think I’ll cancel that order. And don’t try to charge me for it because I’m not paying.”

“You never pay,” Yusuke points out.

Nino gives a sly grin. “Hey, don’t talk to your brother that way.”

“Sorry,” says Yusuke, not sounding particularly sorry.

When Yusuke has wandered away again, in whatever direction he’s headed now, Nino turns back to Aiba.

“Okay, lay it on me,” he says. “What’s the plan?” 

Aiba smiles. Leave it to Nino to know that he’s been thinking of a plan this whole time.

“Plan #1,” says Aiba, “We train a monkey army to pick-pocket the bus passes of Tokyo-san so they have to go back home. Plan #2: While Tokyo-san is sleeping, we strap binoculars to their eyes, but _backwards_ so everything looks really far away and they get confused and think Chiba is too far away and have to leave. Plan #3: We put up mirrors over all of Chiba so they can’t see us and they have to leave. Plan #4: We create an airborne sedative that – ”

Nino holds up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there, Aibashi,” he says. Nino pauses, “How many monkeys do you actually have access to?”

Aiba rubs his chin, pondering this for a moment. “We’d only need three!” he decides. “Or one – one very stealthy monkey!”

“Ok, so we’ll keep that one on the backburner for now,” Nino says, indulgently. “There’s got to be something though. Something that will take less time and effort?”

“The mirrors – ” Aiba starts.

“You know how I feel about those, Mirror Man. First make them work for a person, then we’ll move on to the town.”

“They’re going to work,” Aiba says, defensively. “It was just a prototype! And Kazama didn’t see me – remember he was so scared he fell right into the pit!”

“You pushed him into the pit and it’s his own fault for letting you do it,” Nino argues. “It had nothing to do with the mirrors. The mirrors don’t work.”

“You said that about Aibirdo too. People still talk about it! It was a great success!”

Nino barks out a laugh at that, trying with no success to cover it with the palm of his hand. 

“They talk about how your flight time was zero seconds, yes,” he says once he’s recovered himself.

“But it was fun!” Aiba insists with a grin. “Everyone had fun! That’s what’s so great about Chiba – we can all have fun together.”

Nino leans forward, pushing around his untouched dishes so he can rest his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands. “If only your Tokyo-san knew the kind of fun we have in Chiba.”

Aiba nods his head in agreement. “If only they – AH! I thought of a plan!”

Nino perks up in his seat. “Yeah?”

“It’s easy!” says Aiba. “I don’t know what I didn't think of it before! We just have to convince the Tokyo auditors how great Chiba is! Once they love Chiba, they won’t do anything to hurt it.”

Nino rests his head in his hands again, purses his lips as he thinks this over. “And how will we convince them to love Chiba when they so clearly have no reason to?”

Aiba leans in too now, grinning ear to ear. “The same way I convinced you, Tokyo boy,” he says.

Nino recoils so fast he nearly takes half the table with him. "Not a Chiba Date,” he says, weakly.

“A Chiba Date!” Aiba agrees.

“Anything but that,” groans Nino, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow.

"But you loved your Chiba Date!” says Aiba. “And now you love Chiba!”  
Nino uncovers his face to give Aiba a rueful smile. “Yeah, well, it’s not Chiba that you made me fall in love with,” he grumbles.

Aiba’s expression softens. “Nino,” he says, reaching across the table again.

Nino waves him off, and when that doesn’t work, smacks Aiba’s hand a few times to keep at bay. 

“I must have been under duress. I don’t know what madness overcame me.” He smiles again and this time it’s all affection.

“Don’t say that!” Aiba admonishes, happily. “What is someone hears you and thinks you mean it?”

“Ah well,” says Nino. “Luckily, I got over it.”

“I love you too, Nino-chan,” Aiba replies with feeling. He moves quickly enough to pat Nino on the cheek before Nino can deflect him.

“But you love Chiba even more,” says Nino with surety. “And now you’re going to save it.”

“Yes,” Aiba says. “I’m going to save Chiba.”

“Better get started then. You have a lot of work to do.”

Aiba stands up from his chair, heart pumping with determination. “I’ll be leaving first then. Thanks, Nino!” 

“Just try not to do the same thing again, OK? We don't need any of these weirdos falling in love with you.”

“I’ll try my best. But you know I can’t be resisted!” says Aiba with a wink – or an approximation of a wink, since he’s never successfully gotten the hang of the whole winking thing.

Nino rolls his eyes. “I need get a new best friend. Yusuke-chan!” he calls. “Let’s be best friends! And where’s my beer?”

***

“Kazama, are you in the store yet? Do they have those little tabs I like? You know I can’t make my binders without them! I have to go, but don’t come back until you have them. Drive to Saitama if you have to! I don’t care if your wife needs you home for dinner – tell her it’s for Chiba!”

Aiba hangs up the phone and manages to shove it into his jacket pocket while still juggling an arm full of laminated sheets. He’s so intent on not dropping them that when he reaches Nino’s office door, he barely registers that it’s unlocked. What he does register is the unexpected brightness of the room – Aiba hadn’t even realized that the window shades could be open in here, letting warm morning sunlight stream in.

Then he comes face to face with his Director.

In the six years that they have worked together in the Parks and Recreation Department, and even in the ten years of their inseparable friendship before that, Aiba has never seen Nino look so professional. To being with, the Nino sitting behind his desk this morning has his eyes open – _all the way open_. He’s also holding a pen, and using it to write something down on an actual piece of paper instead of his preferred method of shouting dictation to Kazama through his closed office door. But even more shockingly, disturbing even, is that he’s wearing a _tie_. 

“Nino?” Aiba asks, hesitantly.

“Aiba-chan,” says Nino in greeting. He taps at the watch on his wrist, a watch Aiba has never seen before. “You’re late.”

Aiba drops everything he’s holding. “Late?” he parrots, quickly bending down to pick the binders and sheets at his feet. 

“I’ve been here since 7,” Nino says. “Going over the budget.”

Aiba has recollected everything to the best of his ability and he straightens again, looking at Nino in disbelief, and at the tie, which looks strangely familiar. “What are you wearing?” 

Nino looks down at his tie, then gives Aiba an impish grin. “This?” he asks. “Well, you have to dress like the enemy to think like the enemy.”

Aiba doesn’t really understand what that is supposed to mean, but he nods anyway. Sometimes, when Nino is scheming, it’s better not to ask.

“So what do you have for me?” Nino asks. He pushes the papers he’s been working on to one side so that Aiba can drop his armful of binder-making supplies onto the desk. 

“I have one for each of them. Biographical information, career details, weaknesses,” Aiba explains. “Everything we’ll need for Operation Save Chiba.”

“How much did this cost, Aiba-chan?” asks Nino.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry! Dai-chan did the research, and Kazama borrowed all the binders from the Health Department. See?” Aiba holds up the closest binder to show the cover that still says, in bold lettering: ‘ _SO YOU HAVE HERPES. NOW WHAT?_?’

Nino nods approvingly.

A sudden, sharp set of knocks at the outer office door is enough to end their conversation before it can continue. Aiba turns quickly to see Sakurai and Matsumoto entering the main office and heading in their direction. He turns to warn Nino, but Nino is as usual one step ahead of him, pushing Aiba’s work onto the floor behind the desk in one swift movement. It disappears from view just as Sakurai pokes his head into Nino’s office, smiling cordially. 

“Director, Deputy Director, sorry to interrupt.” 

Aiba can’t help but bristle. 

“Sakurai-san, Matsumoto-san,” he says, coldly, though he can’t help but feel a little guilty for his unfriendly greeting when he notices how exhausted Sakurai looks as he steps further into the room. Even Matsumoto, who had looked so put together during their first meeting, seems a little out of sorts – his perfectly styled hair just ever so slightly disheveled. Both of them are in the same outfits they were wearing on their arrival, and they could clearly do with an ironing. 

“We’re here to deliver some news – ” begins Sakurai, looking back and forth between Aiba and Nino with a solemn expression, before he suddenly stops. 

He looks back to Nino, eyes round with surprise. 

“Director, are you wearing the same tie as I am?”

Nino looks down at his tie again – and this time Aiba realizes why it looks so familiar – it’s the same exact tie that Sakurai is wearing, red with tiny music notes. Nino looks up at Sakurai, his eyes wide and innocent. “Oh, am I?” he says. “What a coincidence!” 

Sho blinks. “And a coincidence that you’re wearing my shirt too?”

“Huh,” says Nino, barely able to contain his glee. “Well, look at that. What a small world!” 

He looks to Matsumoto. “Our belts match too by the way,” he tells him. “In case you didn’t notice.”

Matsumoto glares.

“Right,” Sakurai continues, clearly thrown off by this entire situation. “We’re here with some bad news. I’m afraid that things in Chiba City are worse than we thought.”

The satisfied smile slips off Nino’s face. Suddenly, Aiba feels sick to his stomach. 

“What does that mean?” he asks, even though he’s sure he doesn’t want to hear the answer.

Sakurai turns to Matsumoto, the two exchanging a long look. 

“We're shutting the city government down,” says Matsumoto.

***

“This doesn’t change our plans,” Aiba says to himself as he paces frantically around Nino’s tiny apartment.

Nino does not look up from his video game. 

“Nino!” Aiba says in frustration.

“I heard you,” says Nino. “Doesn’t change our plans. I agree, but don’t be offended if I spend our plan time here at home since we’re not allowed in the building.”

“How can they kick us out of the building?” Aiba wonders again, still appalled by the audacity with which Sakurai and Matsumoto escorted every department to the door of City Hall and slammed it shut behind them.

“You heard what Matsumoto said,” Nino grunts, his fingers pounding particularly forcefully on the controller in his hands. “Essential personnel only.”

“The Department of Parks and Recreation is _essential_. We provide _essential_ services to the people of Chiba City. Without us, who will take care of the parks? Who will run the events and make sure everyone is having fun?”

“All the more reason for our plans to continue,” Nino says, eyes still glued to the screen of his TV. “So let’s plan. Who’s your first target?

Aiba brightens a little, or at least as much as he can under the circumstances. “I’m glad you asked! Our first target is Ohno Satoshi, Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan District Budget Auditing Bureau. He’s in charge so we’ll go to him first. Start at the top is what I always say!”

Nino pulls a face. “ _We’ll_ go find him? I don’t have to be involved, do I?”

“Yes you do,” says Aiba in a tone that dismisses any argument.

A trill of pessimistic music fills the room, and Nino sighs, throwing down his controller. “Fine. I haven’t seen the sun in a few days anyway. Where are we going? Somewhere nearby? Oh no, why are you grinning like that?”

Aiba beams. “Get your sandals, Nino-chan! We’re going to the beach!” 

*

“Ohno Satoshi. Age 36 years. Blood Type A. Hometown: Mitaka, Japan,” Aiba reads aloud from his binder.

“What does his blood type have to do with it?” Nino asks, miserably, from underneath his oversized sunhat and his dark-lensed sunglasses. 

“Any detail can be important!” Aiba says. He snaps his binder shut, putting a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun as he scans the beach in front of him. It takes only a few minutes to find what he’s looking for.

“There he is!”

“Let’s get this over with already,” Nino grouses. “I’m getting sand in my sneakers.”

“I did tell you to wear your sandals. Look, you should have rolled up our pants like I did – see!” Aiba gestures to where he’s rolled up his own pants to a slightly too-short length. “Hurry up and let’s go before we lose him!”

Nino groans, but trudges behind Aiba dutifully as he takes off across the sand. 

“Ohno-san! Chief Ohno Satoshi-san!” Aiba calls out, waving frantically.

A few meters away, the man in question looks up, clearly surprised at the sound of his own name in a strange place. He turns in Aiba’s direction, expression puzzled. 

Aiba waves again and this time Ohno catches sight of him. He smiles cheerfully, waving back. 

Nino has finally caught up with Aiba when Ohno starts to jog towards them across the sand. Nino lowers his sunglasses for a better look, letting out a low whistle. 

“Whoa, Chief-san” he says, elbowing Aiba hard in the side. 

Aiba can’t pretend not to notice what Nino is elbowing him about. Nino has known Aiba long enough to know his type – and while Aiba had tried to ignore it that day in the Parks and Recreation office, the current circumstances are making it much more difficult not to admit to himself that Ohno Satoshi is extremely attractive.

Even now, his heart does a funny little flip as he watches the way the sunlight shines off Ohno’s tan skin, the way the wind whips alluringly through his hair, as he runs along the beach in what feels like slow motion. Aiba quickly looks away, opening his binder and pretending to read through it again even as Nino laughs heartily at him from under the wide brim of his sunhat.

Still, Aiba keeps his head down until Ohno finally reaches them. 

“Aiba-san, Ninomiya-san, what brings you here?” Ohno asks in a friendly tone, not breathless in the least despite his sudden burst of activity. 

“Yo, Ohno-san,” says Nino in greeting.

When Aiba has the nerve to look up from his binder, Ohno is smiling at him again, mouth a happy curl.

Aiba is caught off guard – and not just because Ohno’s smile is more glittering up close than he remembered. He’s only met Ohno once since his arrival from Tokyo, and although it had been under very different circumstances, it’s still hard not be startled by how much brighter and more animated the Chief is out here in the sun than he had been in the office that day.

The same cannot be said for Nino, who despite his amusement at Aiba’s expense, is squirming impatiently now in the hot sun, sneakers sinking further and further into the sand.

“Ohno-san, we scheduled a meeting, but you weren’t in your office,” says Aiba, finally finding his voice again. 

“Sorry,” says Ohno, a bit bashfully. “I didn’t think anyone would need me today. I’m not much of the office type. And it would be a shame to come to Chiba and not go to the beach, right?”

Aiba can only nod.

“We can meet here though, if you don’t mind,” Ohno offers.

Aiba nods again, before realizing that he should probably speak up. “Oh, that’s fine,” he says. “Right, Nino?” 

When Nino doesn’t answer, Aiba looks behind him to find that Nino has disappeared except for his deep, messy footprints that show the path of his quick retreat. He turns back to Ohno, who is watching him with amusement. 

“Ah, Nino has another meeting or something,” Aiba says. “Anyway…”

He opens his binder again, this time to the first of its many, many laminated pages. He clears his throat. No reason to be nervous, he tells himself, just because the Chief is cuter than Aiba remembered doesn’t mean all his heartfelt speech rehearsal should go to waste.

“Chief Ohno Satoshi-san, I have come as a representative of the Chiba City Parks and Recreation Department ‘Save Chiba’ Committee to present you with my ideas on how we can keep our current programming and departments despite the current financial situation. Idea #1: We make a calendar starring the people of Chiba and sell it to raise funds for the city. I think it should be family-themed calendar, I can play the daughter and Nino can be the little brother for starters, and then we’ll need a mom and a dad and a grandpa, but we can work out the details later. Idea #2: We make friendship bracelets out of excess peanut shells from our world famous Chiba peanuts and get them featured in a spread in NON-NO so that they become really popular and everyone wants to buy them. Idea #3: We run an adventure farm for old people because old people should have fun too – ”

He takes a deep breath and looks up at Ohno. “That’s the first page, should I continue?” he asks.

The smile Ohno gives him is warm and encouraging, and Aiba’s mouth is suddenly very dry.

“I think those are all great ideas, Aiba-san,” says Ohno. “And I do think we can save Chiba.”

Aiba blinks at him in complete surprise. “You do?” he asks, in confusion. No one in city government has ever agreed so readily to his lists of demands – not even Nino.

“Yes,” says Ohno, easily. “And I want to.”

Aiba could kiss him, really he could.

“I want to convince Matsumoto-san and Sakurai-san too,” he tells Ohno. “I think if we all work together, we can really do our best for Chiba.”

Ohno grins, his nose scrunching up in a way that makes Aiba’s stomach flutter. “You have ideas for that already, don’t you?” Ohno says.

“Yes. I have more binders too,” Aiba admits.

Ohno thinks for a moment, stretching his arms over his head idly as he does so. Aiba tries not to stare as the gesture lifts Ohno’s tank top up enough to show a slice of midriff, just as tan as the rest of him. 

“Sakurai-san and Matsumoto-san can be pretty serious,” Ohno explains. “But they mean well. They want to help – it’s just that they think they know best.” 

He drops his arms back to his sides. “I don’t think they always know best though. I think, in this case – ” 

He pauses, and there’s an unexpectedly mischievous look in his eyes now. It gives Aiba a surge of hope. 

“I think you know best, Aiba-san,” he says.

“So you’ll help?” asks Aiba, eagerly.

Ohno nods. “I’ll help.”

“Great!” Aiba whoops. He drops his binder to the sand at his feet so he can reach out and grab Ohno’s hand in both of his, shaking it enthusiastically. “The City of Chiba thanks you, Ohno-san.”

“It’s no problem,” Ohno says. He glances down to where Aiba is still clutching his hand. 

Aiba lets go, embarrassed. Ohno just smiles. 

“So what can I do to help?” he asks.

Aiba smiles back. “First, you can tell me more about Sakurai Sho.”

“Ah, Sho-chan,” says Ohno, eyes twinkling. “You’ve heard of the Boy Mayor of Minato, haven’t you?”

***

“Sakurai Sho. Age 35 years. Blood Type A. Hometown: Minato, Tokyo. Alias: Boy Mayor of Minato,” Aiba mumbles to himself as he walks purposefully through the eerily empty hallways of City Hall towards the make-shift office that’s been set up for their visitors from the Auditing Bureau.

“Deputy Director, you’re not supposed to be in here,” says Sakurai, although he doesn’t look very surprised to see Aiba as he saunters through the door.

“Sakurai-san,” Aiba says. He reaches for the official badge hanging from the Space Zombies War IX lanyard around his neck. “I’m essential personnel.”

Sakurai eyes him warily. “Where did you get that? Parks and Recreation was designated non-essential.”

Aiba ignores this question. “I have an appointment with you to discuss some ideas.”

Sakurai looks down at the large planner sitting open on his desk, and even from here, Aiba can see every available space on it is filled with tiny, slightly psychotic looking scrawl and a large number of exclamation points.

“According to my schedule you have fourteen appointments with me,” says Sakurai. 

Aiba nods and smiles his most winning smile. “Fifteen if you count the one we're having right now.”

Sakurai is silent, and for a moment, Aiba begins to doubt his tactics. Ohno had be confident this plan would work, but maybe he had misjudged.

Then Sakurai chuckles loudly, a smile spreading out across his face in way that makes him look not unlike an adorable chipmunk. “Well, seeing as you’ve gone to all the trouble of making it past security, what would you like to discuss?”

Aiba lets out an audible sigh of relief and Sakurai laughs again.

“Something very important,” Aiba tells him. “But first, I heard that you like shellfish, Mayor-san.”

***

The restaurant Aiba takes them to has been specially chosen as the location of Sakurai’s Chiba Date. It’s right on the beach, run by an old grandmother who Aiba has known since he was three years old, and her middle-aged son, Yama-chan, a round-faced man with rounder glasses who thinks of himself as some kind of local Chiba comedian.

Luckily, it turns out that Sakurai has quite a sense of humor. After a few plates of oysters, mussels, and clams loosen him up, he’s laughing until he’s red-faced at nearly every dumb joke Yama-chan can think to yell out to them. ( _“Sho-chan loves to laugh,” Ohno had informed Aiba as Aiba had scribbled frantically in his binder._ )

Phase One of the plan is nearly complete, thinks Aiba happily even as he manages to wheedle Sakurai into ordering a beer despite his protests about professionalism ( _”And he’s really cute when he’s drunk.”_ ).

Yama-chan has disappeared to retrieve their beers and start their fifth order of clams on the grill. Time for Phase Two, Aiba decides. Across the table, Sakurai is finally settling down, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes with the back of his hand. 

Aiba is about to open his mouth to begin his speech, when Sakurai speaks up.

“Aiba-san, how did you know I was a mayor?” he asks. He’s still recovering himself from his last bought of laughter, but his eyes have a shade of seriousness that wasn’t there a few minutes ago as he looks to Aiba for an explanation.

“I do my research,” says Aiba, and it’s mostly the truth. Ohno had given him the hint to work off of, but Aiba had made Dai-chan look up the full story for him – the story of a teenage prodigy who had been voted in as mayor of his hometown, only to immediately bring it up to and then over the precipice of financial ruin with his ill-informed governing. And all this before he even graduated from high school.

“I’d prefer you didn’t share that information around,” says Sakurai, voice low. “I was only 18 then, and I made a lot of decisions that I regret. I suppose you know I was impeached too?”

Aiba nods. It had been hard to read about it without feeling bad for the kid – a brutal reality-check from a town full of adults who should have known better to begin with. According to the news article Dai-chan had dug up on it, to add insult to injury, Sakurai’s parents had grounded him too. 

Sakurai leans back in his chair and gives a world-weary sigh. “As you can see, Aiba-san, I’ve tried my best to leave it behind. I went to a good college, studied hard and got my degree in Economics. I started at the bottom and worked my way up to where I am today, balancing budgets for other towns and cities, always under the principles of fiscal responsibility that I learned too late to save my own home. I do it to try to make up for the damage I caused. And I try not to remember – try not let anyone else remember – who I was before.”

“You shouldn't be ashamed, Sho-chan,” says Aiba, with great feeling. He reaches up to wipe at his own tears that have formed while he listened to Sakurai speak. Nino is always teasing him for being a crybaby, but how can he be untouched by Sakurai’s words – the words of someone who clearly cares about their own hometown as much as Aiba cares about his.

“You loved your hometown and you did your best to serve it,” he tells Sakurai. “You should still be proud, even if it didn’t turn out like you wanted to. Your town should be proud of everything you’ve done since to help others.”

“Aiba-san – ” Sakurai says in amazement, maybe even horror, as Aiba’s tears continue to fall freely. 

“And that’s why you need to help us save Chiba!” Aiba says, forcefully. 

“Aiba-san,” Sakurai says again, and this time he sounds as exhausted as he’s been looking lately.

Aiba interrupts him before he can say anything more. “Isn’t there something you can do to save it? To save _my_ hometown?” he asks.

“Aiba-san, I’m doing everything I can. That’s why we shut the government down. That’s why we're cutting the budget. But Aiba-san, you need to prepare yourself for the worst. Other places where it’s been this bad, they’ve been forced into mergers with other towns. Or worse – ” 

“That won’t happen here!” says Aiba. “I know it won’t! Not in Chiba.”

Sakurai shakes his head and the look in his eyes now is one of amazement, admiration even. “Arguing with you is like arguing with the sun,” he says. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Aiba replies with a smile.

The door to the kitchen crashes open and Yama-chan appears carrying another tray of food and drinks that he sets down on the table between them. Sakurai digs in immediately, Yama-chan chattering away again with another joke.

Aiba takes a generous sip from his beer. 

Time for Phase Three.

***

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Aiba says, gesturing out over the scenery before them proudly.

With a little effort, he’s managed to get a now slightly tipsy Sakurai up to the top of this hill, which overlooks some of the best scenery Chiba has to offer – luscious green grass, pristine sandy beach, and clear blue ocean speckled with frothy white waves. 

“This is my special spot,” Aiba tells Sakurai. “Our department has been trying to make it into an official city park for two years, but I was coming to it long before then. It’s technically private land still, but nobody ever uses it for anything so we’ve been trying to purchase it.” 

He unfurls the rolled up blueprint he’s brought along with them and holds it out so that Sakurai can see Toma’s park design for this very spot – filled with benches and picnic areas, trees and water features and flower beds, even a community garden.

“It’s lovely,” says Sakurai, honestly.

Aiba re-rolls the blueprint and sticks it back under his arm. “If the budget is cut like you’re planning, it will never happen – and that will be a really terrible thing.”

A few steps away from them, there’s a much more rickety bench than those in Toma’s sketch. Aiba directs Sakurai to take a seat there, which he does with only a little trepidation.

“I won’t argue with you anymore, Sho-chan. But as one public servant to another, I just ask that you do this for me. Sit here and look at the scenery and listen to this song and enjoy.”

It’s a very strange request, but whether it's a full stomach or the fourth glass of beer, Sakurai can do nothing but nod in acquiescence. Aiba hands him the iPod he’s prepared, all cued up and ready to go with a heartwarming rendition of “Chiba kenminka.” Sakurai puts in the ear buds. He hits play as he gazes out over the view before him.

The pit is in a unique spot, hard to see from the angle above so that someone standing – or sitting – on the very edge might not notice it for the rest of the scenery. This is what Aiba is counting on. As he hoped, it’s so beautiful up here that Sho hasn’t noticed it at all.

It’s not the first time Aiba has pushed someone into this pit, but it’s the first time he’s pushed someone into it in order to save Chiba. 

“Sorry, Sho-chan,” Aiba says.

“Huh?” Sakurai takes out one of his ear buds. “What was that?”

With one forceful shove, Aiba pushes Sho into the pit.

“Aiba-san!” Sakurai yelps as he tumbles to the bottom. It’s not a deep hole, but it’s deep enough to keep someone from climbing right back out – something Sakurai notices very quickly. “ _What’s going on??_ ”

Aiba grabs his binder, flips to the first page, and beings to read aloud dramatically.

“Sakurai Sho-san. As Deputy Director of Chiba City Parks and Recreation, I, Aiba Masaki, will not let you leave this pit until you agree to help us save Chiba.”

“Aiba-san, this is crazy!” Sakurai shouts desperately, scrabbling at the sides to no avail as he tries to get himself out. 

Aiba raises his voice to be heard over Sakurai’s increasingly distressed cries. “Until you agree, I will read you haiku I wrote about Chiba.”

“ _Chiba is the best_  
Do you remember Skidome?  
Too bad it is closed

_Chiba is the best_  
Hayfever is the highest  
In all of Japan 

_Chiba is the best_  
Bountiful sea and mountains  
And an airport too 

_Chiba is the best_  
Did you know that Cho Chikun  
Lives just down the street? 

_Chiba is the best_  
Have you been to our theme parks?  
Don’t forget Tokyo German Village”

“That last one had too many syllables!” Sakurai calls up to him in despair.

“I have twenty-nine more,” says Aiba, very seriously. “And I can improvise them too. Chiba is the best – ”

“Stop!!!” Sakurai cries.

Aiba peers over the edge of his binder and down into the pit. “Will you help us save Chiba?” he asks, very seriously.

“Yes,” Sakurai groans. “Yes, I will help you save Chiba.”

“You won’t cut the budget? You’ll let all the employees come back to City Hall?”

“Fine! Just get me out of here!”

Aiba lets out a shout of victory and promptly jumps down into the pit beside Sakurai.

“Thank you, Sho-chan!” he says, bringing Sakurai into a crushing embrace. “I promise this time you won’t regret it!”

When he pulls back, Sakurai looks close to tears. “Aiba-chan, if you’re down here – 

Before he can finish his thought, Aiba catches on. He looks up at the patch of sky above them, and not so far below that, the top of the pit. In his excitement, he’d forgotten to throw down the rope he’d brought to pull Sakurai back up. 

“ – how are we going to get out?”

***

“Aiba! Aiba! Is the rehearsal over now?”

Aiba reaches down to pat the head of the little girl attached to his legs. “Good time-keeping, Mari-chan! Yes, we’re done.” 

He turns with a smile to the gaggle of children standing in a somewhat straight line before him. “Good job everybody! Aiba JAPAN Children’s Chorus is doing great!”

“Aiba, when are we going to have a performance?” asks a pink-cheeked boy near the end of the line. 

“That’s a good question, Hiro-chan. I’m sure we’ll have a performance really soon and we can show everyone the hard work we did! Aiba-nii is going to find us a really good place so don’t worry. I’ll see you all next week, okay?”

The children shout out their goodbyes and Aiba watches them fondly as they scamper out the door to meet their waiting parents. When the last of them have left, he takes a few minutes to re-organize the room like he promised Mizu-sensei when he borrowed it to use as their rehearsal space. Finally, he grabs his bag, and even remembers to leave the keys in the mailbox outside as he exits this time. 

He’s just stepping out onto the sidewalk when someone calls out to him.

“Aiba-san!”

“Ohno-san,” Aiba says in surprise as he turns to find Ohno headed in his direction. “What are you doing here?”

Ohno comes to a stop in front of him, grinning. “Oh,” he says. “Just wandering.”

“I was just going to come find you,” Aiba admits.

Ohno’s smile widens. “I found you first,” he says and Aiba is sure that his heart does actually skip a beat. “How did it go with Sho-chan?”

“That’s what I wanted to tell you!” Aiba tries and fails to contain his excitement to tell the news as he nearly jumps into the air. “It worked – the Chiba Date worked! He agreed to help us save Chiba!”

“I knew he would,” says Ohno, happily. “Sho-chan is a good person.”

Aiba nods, then pauses. He feels suddenly nervous as he adjusts the strap of his bag more comfortably over his shoulder and tries to work up the courage for what he’s about to say next.

Ohno waits patiently.

“I was actually going to invite you to come celebrate the victory with me if you’re free,” says Aiba, finally. “Do you like sweets?”

Ohno perks up immediately, eyes sparkling. “Yes!” 

Aiba smiles, relaxing a little in the face of Ohno’s enthusiasm. “I know a good place nearby. Come with me!”

He takes Ohno to the cake shop at the end of the block. Aiba is a regular customer here, and as the bell jingles over the door to announce their arrival, several of the employees greet him informally. 

“Hey, Aiba!” says the young women behind the counter. “You’re in early today.”

“Kojima-chan, it’s a special occasion!” Aiba explains to her as he and Ohno approach the counter. “I wanted to bring Ohno-san to the best sweets shop in town.”

He turns to Ohno, whose eyes are already comically round as he gazes into the display case packed with baked goods and desserts. 

“They have the best cake here,” he tells him. “And ice cream! And shaved ice! Right, Kojima-chan?”

“Aiba is our resident Sweets Boy!” says Kojima, brightly. “We even have a special named after him. The Deputy Director Aiba Masaki Special Chiba Sweets Boy Surprise. Would you like to try it, Ohno-san?”

“Ah, you don’t have to,” says Aiba, shyly. “There are lots of other good things to order too – ”

“Yes, please!” says Ohno without hesitation.

By the cheeky look Kojima-chan is giving him, Aiba is sure his ears must be burning. “I’ll have the same."

“Coming right up! Please have a seat!” Kojima-chan bobs her head, eyes twinkling with amusement. Aiba will have to come back and scold her for it later, but for now, he just hopes that Ohno doesn’t notice. 

In the meantime, he leads Ohno to his usual table right by the front window, looking out on the street where he can watch the people of Chiba walking by – the best people in the whole world, enjoying the best city in the whole world.

“This place is great,” Ohno decides, approvingly, as they take a seat. Aiba can only grin in response.

Outside, an older woman in a dark blue kimono is hurrying by when she glances in their direction, spotting Aiba in the window of the shop. She points at him animatedly through the glass, then scurries towards the front door.

“Aiba-san!” she says as she burst in. “Aiba-san, have you found anything yet?”

Aiba shakes his head regretfully. “Not yet, Kawashima-san. But don’t worry! We’ll find it! I’m not giving up until we do.”

“Thank you, Aiba-san,” the old woman says. She reaches out to take Aiba’s hand, her eyes wet with tears of gratefulness. “What would we do without you?”

Then, as quickly as she appeared, she is gone – back out the door and down the street out of view.

Ohno gives Aiba an inquisitive look.

“Kawashima-san and her middle school class are trying to find the time capsule they buried together over thirty years ago,” Aiba explains. “Except they all forgot where they put it. So I’ve been helping them find it. No luck yet, but I have some new leads! I think the former school principal is still alive and living in Ichinomiya – ”

“That’s something you do in your Department?” Ohno asks, brow furrowed.

Aiba can’t help but give him a triumphant smile. “Well technically, the capsule was buried on city property and it’s our job to make sure no damages are done while they try to find it. But it’s also part of our ‘No Problem Too Small Initiative,’ which I created to help the people of Chiba with whatever problem they have, Parks-related or otherwise. For Chiba City Parks and Recreation Department, ‘No Problem is Too Small!’”

Ohno, Aiba thinks smugly, looks suitably impressed by this. “Any problem?” he wonders aloud.

“Yes, any problem!” says Aiba, proudly. “Do you have a problem? I can solve it!”

Ohno seems to think about this seriously for a moment, reaching up to push his bangs out of his face again in a way that Aiba is finding increasingly endearing. 

“The bathtub wall in my hotel room keeps falling off.”

Aiba tries and fails not to giggle at the absurdity of this statement coming from Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan District Budget Auditing Bureau. “That is a problem. I’ll send Kazama over first thing tomorrow to fix it.”

“Thanks!” says Ohno, giggling himself. “It’s really annoying.” 

In the midst of all this giggling, Kojima-chan arrives at their table, balancing two giant trays. 

“Two Deputy Director Aiba Masaki Special Chiba Sweets Boy Surprises!” she says, making sure to give Aiba a significant wink as she sets down their orders. “Enjoy!”

“Wow,” Ohno breathes in awe as he looks at the towering masterpiece of dessert before him.

“Hope you like it,” Aiba says, and Ohno nods enthusiastically, already digging in with his spoon.

For a while, they eat in silence – aside for the delighted noises Ohno is making as he discovers each new layer of dessert. Aiba tries his best to concentrate on his own dish, or at least not stare too obviously at the ridiculously overjoyed look on Ohno’s face. 

Ohno is about halfway through the second chocolate chip cookie layer when he finally puts down his spoon to exhale. Aiba is still working away diligently on vanilla pudding, so it takes him longer than it should to notice the way Ohno is watching him. 

He looks up, bashfully. Ohno smiles.

“You love your job, don't you?” he asks. It’s an abrupt sort of question, but one that Aiba has no trouble finding an answer for.

“My job is my life!” he says, unreservedly. He lifts his hand to tick off fingers as he speaks. “Friends, sweets, and work are the three most important things. In that order. Or maybe sweets, friends, and work. But work is definitely the third most important thing!”

Ohno laughs, but wrinkles his nose in a way that suggests he does not agree – a reaction that Aiba is bewildered by.

“You don’t think so?” he asks Ohno in surprise.

Ohno shrugs. “Friends and sweets are important. My job is okay.”

“Oh,” says Aiba. He tries to think of something else to say, but he can’t. Although he knows not everyone agrees with him, he also can’t imagine not loving his job as much as he does.

“What did my binder say about it?” Ohno asks, curiously.

The binder, Aiba remembers, had said this: Ohno Satoshi started his career as an assistant on a fishing boat until his Captain was offered a position in the Tokyo Department of Fisheries and took him along into the world of city government. He had no notable career achievements until a series of district-wide budgetary layoffs and an unexpected promotion placed him in the role of Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan District Budget Auditing Bureau. A strange and disorienting career trajectory for someone who most probably would have been happy staying on the fishing boat to begin with. Still, despite this, Ohno was clearly loved by his coworkers and subordinates alike, and even was recently commended for the success of his unique leadership style.

“That you like sweets,” Aiba jokes.

“It didn’t say I liked sweets!” Ohno laughs, knocking his feet against Aiba’s underneath the table and Aiba is sure he must be beaming again.

“No, but that note will be added!” he replies. “That’s just the kind of information that is relevant to the binder. I already texted Kazama to have the revised version on my desk by 9am.”

Ohno is still giggling as he picks up his spoon again to dig into the next layer of Blue Hawaii shaved ice, though it soon peters out to thoughtful silence.

“Is this my Chiba Date then?” he muses, and it’s probably more to himself than to Aiba but Aiba still nearly knocks over his entire dish in his alarm. 

“Ah! I forgot you didn’t get one!” he says with a mix of worry and embarrassment. “I don’t want you to feel left out! I can get my binder and – ”

“Aiba-chan,” Ohno says. He reaches across the table to pat Aiba’s hand comfortingly. “This is perfect.”

Aiba gives a nervous laugh, and this time his face really must be red. Ohno doesn’t mention it though, just goes back to work on his dessert.

“Jun-kun will be harder you know,” he says, and there’s warmth in his eyes when he looks up at Aiba to add, “He takes his work very seriously – like you.”

Aiba shakes his head. “There is no challenge too great to help Chiba. I’m sure I can convince him!” 

When Ohno smiles this time, it’s almost devious. He leans across the table and whispers conspiratorially, “Then you should know that Jun-kun _loves_ mascots.”

***

“Here’s the headline: _Chiba City – Broke or Breaking the Boundaries of Budgets? Best Borough in Japan Shows The World How Love, Friendship, and Peanuts Can Conquer Catastrophes._ ”

“That’s an extremely long headline, Aiba-san.”

“Tetsuya-kun, Chiba Walker Magazine has a responsibility to report breaking news to the people of Chiba, no matter how long the headline is!” Aiba says adamantly, smacking the reporter hard on the arm in emphasis. 

Tetsuya-kun’s expression is as inscrutable as it always is. “I think I’ll handle the headline again this time if that’s okay.”

“I have some more options if you want!” Aiba offers without hesitation. “How about _Working for Peanuts?! Saving Chiba’s Budget is An Elephant of a Job for_ – Oh, hold that thought!”

A black, expensive-looking car with tinted windows pulls to a stop a few meters away. Aiba dashes towards it, and seeing an opening for escape, Tetsuya-kun excuses himself as the car’s door opens and Mastumoto Jun steps out.

“Matsujun!” Aiba calls, waving.

Matsumoto turns in Aiba’s direction, a murderous look spreading across his face.

“What did you just call me?” he asks, placing his hands firmly on his hips, a gesture that is much more intimidating than it should be. He’s still impeccably dressed today, but Aiba can’t help but notice that he’s no longer wearing the belt that Nino had so perfectly matched a few days ago. His hair, too, has fallen is now almost completely limp.

“Matsujun!” Aiba repeats. “It’s a nickname I just made up. Like it?”

“Not at all,” Matsumoto replies in complete deadpan.

“Matsujun,” continues Aiba, unperturbed. “Thank you for meeting me. Did you know that Chiba is the number one exporter of bonsai in the world?”

Matsumoto’s eyes narrow suspiciously. “Yes, I did actually.”

“Great!” says Aiba. He gestures behind him to the impressive front entrance of the Chiba Bonsai Market. “So you won’t mind if we have our meeting here at the Bonsai Market then?”

Matsumoto is silent, but when Aiba turns to head into the market, he follows close behind, nearly running into Aiba’s back when Aiba stops abruptly.

“Hi, Utahiroba-kun! How are you?” Aiba calls out.

“Aiba-san! Yo!” says a guy in dark eyeliner and a shiny leather jacket standing at the market entrance. His hair is parted severely down the middle, with one side black and the other side bleached bright blonde. 

He lifts his hand to high-five Aiba cheerfully. To Matsumoto he says, “Welcome to the Chiba Bonsai Market! You must be Matsumoto-san. I heard you’re quite the bonsai collector.”

Despite being obviously perplexed by the guy’s eccentric appearance, Matsumoto nods his head. “I have a few.” 

Aiba covers his laugh with an unconvincing cough, and Matsumoto shoots a wary look in his direction. (“ _Jun-kun has a bonsai that costs as much as a house! And that’s just one of them!” Ohno had told Aiba, with a mix of awe and horror, just the day before._ ) 

“Then I think you’ll like to take a look around,” says Utahiroba-kun. 

He steps back to reveal the garden behind him, filled with bonsai of every shape, size, and color, as far as the eye can see. 

There is a long, silent pause as Mastumoto’s gaze darts visibly around the garden before them. Then, before Aiba’s very eyes, Mastumoto’s stern expression melts off his face – and cracks into a maniacal, tooth-filled grin.

“I’ll grab my wallet,” Mastumoto says and takes off at a jog for his car.

***

“Thank you for your help,” Matsumoto says as Aiba loads the last of Matsumoto’s new bonsai purchases gently into the trunk of his car.

“No problem, Matsujun,” Aiba says, feeling lighthearted with the apparent success of another Chiba Date – at least so far. “Utahiroba-kun said you really know your stuff. I think he might have a crush on you now.” 

Matsumoto grits his teeth. “Aiba-san. I know what you did to Sakurai-kun. So before you push me off a cliff, why don’t you tell me what you want to say.”

“It wasn’t a cliff. It was a pit,” Aiba corrects. “And I pushed him _into_ it.”

Matsumoto’s face twitches, and for an awe-filled moment, Aiba thinks he may actually laugh. He’s certainly in a better mood that when he arrived a few hours ago – and he should be, since he just spent an amount roughly equal to what Aiba makes in an entire year on a trunk full of some of the country’s most famous bonsai. Nino would have a heart attack if only he knew.

“I’d rather not be pushed into a pit either,” Matsumoto says. He shuts the trunk and leans back against it with his arms crossed over his chest in a way that is impressively, effortlessly cool. “So spit it out.”

“I have ideas of how to raise money to save the budget – to save Chiba,” Aiba tells him.

He reaches into his bag and pulls out the last of his binders.

“Idea #1: We start a food truck that sells high-price gourmet items made using only liquid nitrogen and sell them on the beach. Idea #2: We write and produce a song and dance show starring local traffic directors and take it on tour across the country. Idea #3: We create a doujinshi series that takes place in Chiba City, possibly with a romance, maybe with ice skaters – I hear ice skaters are in right now – and then sell the live action movie rights to TV Asahi. Idea #4: We train a monkey army to pick-pocket tourists and they’ll have such a good time in Chiba that they won’t mind! Now we don’t need a whole army, we actually just need one really stealthy – ”

Matsumoto puts a hand up to stop him and Aiba can’t help but obediently snaps his mouth shut in the face of such authority.

“Aiba-san, those ideas are all terrible. Way more terrible that I ever could have imagined,” he says critically and Aiba’s heart sinks. 

Mastumoto continues. “But despite what you may think of me, I would be happy to find a solution to Chiba’s money problem that does not involve its insolvency.”

Aiba’s jaw drops open so wide he’s sure it must hit the ground. “What?!” he nearly yells in surprise.

Mastumoto smiles then – _smiles_ – and Aiba wonders if this entire thing is just a dream, or maybe an elaborate prank that Nino has spent several years putting into place – only Nino would never joke about bankruptcy.

“You heard me,” the smiling Matsumoto says.

Aiba looks back down at his binder and beings to flip feverishly through its laminated pages. “I have more ideas. I have hundreds of ideas!”

“I think I’ve heard more than enough of those,” Matsumoto says. 

He reaches forward to take the binder from Aiba’s hands and tosses it aside. Then he leans back on the car again, pursing his lips as he thinks.

“What you really need is something big – something to bring in people from all over the country to spend money that could be put back into the city’s funds.”

“The traffic directors – ” Aiba starts, but Mastumoto shakes his head hardheartedly. 

“Something people would actually want to go to, Aiba-san. A big event – or a festival. Something that shows just how special Chiba is,” he says. 

“Special?” says Aiba, the word nearly catching in his throat as a wave of emotion overtakes him.

Matsumoto’s eyes widen in horror when he realizes what he’s said. He shakes his head, trying to take it back. “No, what I meant was – ”

Aiba pulls Mastumoto into a bone-crushing hug.

“Aiba-san!” Matsumoto yelps.

“You said Chiba was special, Mastujun,” Aiba blubbers into Matsumoto’s expensive suit jacket.

“Get off me!” Matsumoto pleads, struggling to get free.

“ _Funassyiiiiii~~!_ ”

A strange shriek in the distance has Aiba quickly releasing Mastumoto from his enthusiastic grip. Matsumoto too turns swiftly, eagerly, in the direction of the sudden noise. 

In the distance, a line of mascots are waving and jumping and running enthusiastically towards them.

“I almost forgot! Our special guests have arrived!” says Aiba, wiping at his wet cheeks with the back of his sleeve as the mascots make a grand show of arriving before them, leaping and tumbling and striking cute poses at their feet.

“Matsujun. This is Chiba-kun.” Aiba gestures to the adorably round red dog who is waving frantically at them, then continues to move down the line to introduce the others – a giant, bouncy yellow pear wearing a blue shirt, and a row of various avian creatures wearing baseball gear. “And here’s Funabashi City’s Funassyi, of course. And don’t forget my friends from the Chiba Lotte Marines – Cool-kun, Mar-kun, Zu-chan, and Rine-chan.”

“I thought you’d like to meet them,” Aiba says turning back to Mastumoto.

For nearly a full minute, Mastumoto is completely speechless. When he finds his voice again, Aiba is fully prepared for the question that he asks. 

“Can I?” Mastumoto says, eyes wide and wild.

“Be my guest,” Aiba replies with a grin. “Funassyi-chan, brace yourself for impact!” he calls out in warning as Matsumoto hastily sheds his suit jacket and throws it into Aiba’s waiting arms.

“ _Funassyiiiiii~~!_ ” the mascot cries as Mastumoto grabs him roughly by the face and tackles him to the ground.

***

“So you convinced them,” Nino hums smugly as he leans back in his chair.

Aiba beams, taking another sip of his beer before slamming it back down triumphantly on the once again food-crowded tabletop. 

“Matsujun had to take Mar-kun’s head off, but yes, he agreed after that!” he reports with pride.

Nino grins, shakes his head in disbelief. “I don’t know how you did it.”

“It wasn’t me!” Aiba protests. “It was Chiba! I just helped to show them how great Chiba City really is! And besides I couldn't have done it without Ohno-kun’s help.”

Nino snickers at that. “You like him, huh?”

Aiba already has his chopsticks halfway to this mouth with another dumpling. “Who?” he asks in confusion.

“Ohno-san,” Nino says, smirking.

Aiba’s dumpling drops back into his bowl with a splash that covers the front of his shirt in soup broth. “Eh? No I don’t!”

“Nice try,” says Nino. He tosses Aiba a napkin across the table. “I know you like him. I am a keen observer of the human condition. Plus I know what your face looks like when you like someone. You like him.”

“I guess I do,” says Aiba quietly as he swipes ineffectually at the soup splashes that are already quickly drying into permanent stains.

Nino gives a put-upon sigh. He leans across the table, grabs the napkin in one hand and Aiba’s shirt in the other, and sets to work. 

“You should do something about that,” he says as he dabs. “Before he goes back to Tokyo.”

Aiba sighs, a bit forlornly. He’d been trying not to think about the inevitability of Ohno going back to Tokyo-san. Not that Tokyo is very far away from Chiba – but with busy jobs, and busy lives, and an entire Chiba Saving Event TBD in Aiba’s near future, he can’t ignore the fact that seeing Ohno frequently, if at all, would be difficult. Maybe even out of the question if Ohno doesn’t feel the same as Aiba does...

“I don’t even know if he likes me back,” says Aiba, sadly.

“Aiba-chan,” Nino says, rolling his eyes. “Everyone likes you.”

He throws the napkin aside, then tugs harshly on the front of Aiba’s shirt until Aiba meets his eyes.

“Tell him how you feel, Aibashi. That’s the only way you’ll know for sure.”

He gives Aiba an encouraging smile – one that quickly turns wily. “Now get out your wallet, it’s your turn to pay.”

***

Aiba takes one deep breath, then another, working up his courage. He knocks on the hotel room door.

It’s silent, and for a panicked minute Aiba wonders if he’s already too late – it’s past 11pm after all, and maybe Ohno is the early-to-bed type. He’s just about to turn and leave when there’s a quiet shuffling noise from the room within. The door swings open.

“Aiba-san,” Ohno says, blinking sleepily – and Aiba can’t help but feel triumphant that he’d guessed right about Ohno’s sleeping schedule.

“Deputy Director Aiba Masaki from the Chiba City Department of Parks and Recreation,” Aiba says, bowing deeply. He holds up his toolbox. “I’m here as a part of the ‘No Problem Too Small’ Initiative responding to your report of a faulty bathtub wall.”

Ohno’s eyebrows furrow cutely, and he opens the door wider to reveal himself in a state of almost undress that must be his sleepwear. Aiba feels his face heat up at the sight of it.

“Is that really Parks-related business?” Ohno wonders, though he’s clearly pleased, his mouth curling into a smile. He reaches up to adjust the bright-pink hairclip pinning his bangs back away from his face. It’s adorable – so adorable that he should wear it during the day too, Aiba thinks.

“Ah well,” he says, grinning at the thought. “Probably not!” 

Ohno smiles. “Probably not,” he repeats.

“Actually,” says Aiba, shifting nervously from one foot to another. He squeezes his eyes shut so he can push out the next words before he loses his nerve. “Actually, I came to tell you that I like you. And I thought – I wanted to know if you liked me too?”

Silence. Aiba feels his heart drop – Nino is never wrong, but maybe this time he is. Aiba hasn’t heard the door slam shut yet, but that might not mean anything. Still, there’s no backing down now, and if Ohno rejects him, Aiba will still have to open his eyes so he can run away as fast as he can. 

He swallows bravely, and peeks one eye open.

Ohno is still standing there, in the doorway, with his pink hairclip. He’s still smiling too. 

“Aiba-chan,” he says, happily, and that’s all the warning Aiba gets before Ohno presses up on his toes and kisses him.

***

Mastumoto opens the binder in his hands, turns to the first laminated page, and begins to read.

“After having the chance to work more closely with Chiba City, the Tokyo Metropolitan District Budget Auditing Bureau’s recommendation is no longer to dissolve the city’s internal government. Instead, with the help of the Chiba City Parks and Recreation Department, we’ve come up with a sixteen-point plan to be executed over the next six months by our newly appointed Chiba City Budget Officer, Director Ninomiya. This plan will allow us to revitalize and redistribute the budget appropriately across the city, without cutting personnel or programming. Deputy Director Aiba will also be working closely with the rest of the Chiba City government to develop a series of public events, including the Chiba City Festival, to raise money for the city’s continued prosperity.”

Matsumoto has barely gotten the last sentence out when the Chiba City Hall meeting room bursts into applause and cheers.

Mastumoto grins, and beside him, so does Sakurai. Ohno looks towards Aiba standing near the back of the room with Nino, and gives him a thumbs up.

Aiba is returning the gesture when someone taps him on the shoulder. He turns, surprised to see the Mayor of Chiba City standing beside him.

“Deputy Director Aiba,” says Mayor Kiritani, reaching out to shake his hand. “I wanted to take the chance to thank you personally. In honor of your service for Chiba City, we would like to present you with a key to the city and an Award of Excellence.”

“Eh? Me?” says Aiba in surprise. “But what about the others?”

“A little bird told me it was you I have to thank,” the Mayor tells him.

Aiba quickly looks to Nino. Nino shrugs innocently, but there is a suspicious glint in his eyes. 

“Thank you, Mayor-san,” is all Aiba can say, trying not to be the crybaby Nino always accuses him of being even as tears fill his eyes.

“My pleasure,” she replies with a wink. 

Aiba is about to wink back, but before he can Nino smacks him on the back of the head to stop him. 

“Don’t creep out the Mayor, Aibaka!” Nino scolds, then gives the Mayor a wink of his own. “Nice to see you, Kiri-chan! I’ll be looking forward to my bonus!”

“What bonus?!” Aiba asks him accusingly, and Nino lets out a gleeful cackle.

The Mayor shakes her head in amusement as she walks away, passing Toma who is headed in their direction. Toma holds up his hand to her, and despite all odds, she reaches up and high-fives him.

“What! Kiri-chan never high-fives me!” Nino whines to Aiba as Toma approaches, looking smug.

Toma claps a hand on Aiba’s shoulder. “Good job saving Chiba, Super Deputy Aiba-chan! Looking forward to seeing my park design cover up that pit before you push someone else into it.”

“Thanks, Toma!” says Aiba, sincerely.

“So, Nino-san,” Toma starts in a casual tone. Nino narrows his eyes at him. “Now that you’re the newly appointed Budget Officer and all, I’m here to talk to you about my City Planner budget.”

“No way!” says Nino. “You’re not getting any budget. It’s recently come to my attention that you’re not even _from_ Chiba, and worse than that, you’ve been writing in some made up place on your personal forms. That’s fraudulence. You can be arrested for that, you know.” 

“Oi!” says Toma in warning and Nino grins mischievously, then takes off towards the nearest exit. “Aiba-chan, meet me at the restaurant later! You can buy me dinner to congratulate me on my bonus!”

“Nino!” Toma growls, chasing after Nino, hot on his heels. “See you later, Super Deputy!” he shouts over his shoulder.

There’s a giggle and Aiba finds Ohno at his side now, nearly doubled over with laughter as he watches Nino dash through the crowded room, eluding Toma’s capture at every turn.

Aiba waits patiently for Ohno to recover himself. When Ohno has finally straightened again, Aiba clears his throat.

“So,” he says to Ohno. “I guess you’ll be headed back to Tokyo-san soon?”

Ohno rubs a hand over his face, still giggling a little. “Jun-kun and Sho-chan are leaving tomorrow – after you take them back to that shellfish restaurant like you promised.” 

He smiles at Aiba gently. “But I was thinking I might stick around for a while. Now that the bathtub wall is fixed in my hotel room, it would be a shame to leave. And I don’t think they have Deputy Director Aiba Masaki Special Chiba Sweets Boy Surprise in Tokyo…”

Aiba beams. “They don’t! Because Chiba is the best!”

“You really like Chiba,” Ohno says, approvingly.

Aiba nods in wholehearted admission. “I do.”

“Me too,” says Ohno. He takes Aiba’s hand in his. “And I really like you too.”

*****


End file.
